May needs the votes of Arlene Foster's 10 MPs to prop up her minority administration (Image: PA)

The Queen's speech will be taking place tomorrow (Image: Getty)

Arlene Foster ’s anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage and climate change sceptical DUP also warned Mrs May they “would not be taken for granted” as they try to secure a deal in their favour in exchange for supporting her in the Commons after she lost her majority at the polls.

A source said: “Talks had not proceeded as expected.”

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It means Mrs May will unveil her first Queen’s speech tomorrow with no coalition and able to only deliver a watered down programme for government. She will be the first PM in more than 40 years to present the speech without a ­guaranteed Commons majority.

Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery said: “This is chaos from a weak and wobbly Prime Minister. It is an ­unprecedented shambles.

Tories insist a deal will be in place before the speech (Image: AFP)

“At the moment, It looks like the Tories are unable to put together even a basic programme for government or stitch together a stable deal with the DUP to stay in office.

“The minority Tory Government has no majority, no mandate, no authority and no programme it can win support for in Parliament.”

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Tory sources were last night insisting a deal with the DUP would be in place before the Queen’s Speech is voted on in the Commons. Even if the unionists abstained in that, Mrs May still has just enough MPs to force her programme through in the face of opposition from Labour, the SNP , the Lib Dems and the other minor parties.

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But she has been forced to drop a host of Tory election pledges because she does not have enough support to push controversial measures through.

It means hated plans such as axing free school meals, reviving fox hunting and clobbering the elderly with pension cuts and a Dementia Tax will be ditched. Instead the PM will press ahead with a series of unadventurous Bills such as banning letting agent fees, pressing ahead with the HS2 rail link and a clampdown on whiplash injury insurance claims.

In a London speech he said creating jobs and prosperity should come first. He added: “Anything less will be a failure.” Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Mr Hammond’s speech revealed just how deeply the Tories were divided over Brexit .

He added: “The fact there is clearly such a serious split between Number 10 and 11 is very worrying, and only helps to undermine our country ahead of the Brexit negotiations. It further shows just how weak a position Theresa May is in.”

The Institute of Directors welcomed Mr Hammond’s focus on jobs.

It said: “This is a step towards shoring up shaky business confidence.”

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But Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned Brexit would plunge Britain into economic disaster with wages hit, job losses and a higher costs of living as we lose our EU links.

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The Queen's speech: as imagined (in full) by Brian Reade

This is the weirdest thing one’s been asked to do for one’s country since James Bond asked one to leap out of a helicopter, because there’s going to be as much point to this speech over the coming year as there is Dec without Ant.

All that matters is Brexit , or rather, like Charles’s daily boiled egg dilemma, if we want it soft, hard or all over one’s face.

The good news is all that stuff my Prime Minister pledged before the election won’t happen, so there’s no cap on pensioner care costs or means-testing of the Winter Fuel Allowance. As one’s husband said: “Get in, girl.”

The bad news is, in light of recent events, we need to start making serious offers to the crackpots in our midst.

Which is why, if the DUP will accept, my government plans to ban dinosaurs from the national curriculum, Celtic shirts from sports shops and Graham Norton from the BBC.